The gender pay gap by the numbers
On average, women in the U.S. are paid 20% less than men.
Women on average are paid 20% less than men. If you break the pay gap down by race and ethnicity, it is even worse: Black women are paid 37% less, and Latinas are paid
46% less.
Learn more
Any way you look at it, there’s a gender pay gap.
When you control for important factors such as education, experience, industry, occupation, role, and hours worked, the pay gap still exists. Learn more And the gap actually widens at higher education levels. Learn more
The gender pay gap starts early.
As early as 16 years old, women are paid less than men—and the gap only grows from there. Learn more
The gender pay gap hurts families.
Lower earnings for women often lead to less money for families. This impacts families’ ability to buy groceries, pay for childcare, invest in their children’s education, and more. Learn more
If We Closed The Pay Gap, Women Could Afford...
It’s worse for women globally.
On average, women are paid 46% less than men worldwide. Learn more
Size of the Gender Pay Gap Across the Globe Learn more
52%
Mexico42%
Brazil48%
Chile36%
Poland76%
Saudi Arabia26%
Ghana39%
South Africa40%
Russia38%
China37%
AustraliaAnd we are a long way from closing the gender pay gap.
At the current rate of progress, here’s how long it will take until women around the world are paid fairly. Learn more
the Pacific
North Africa
None of us can afford
to wait this long...
I support equal pay
Equal Pay Is Good For Business
Closing the gender pay gap isn’t just the right thing for companies to do—it’s the smart thing to do.
Learn MoreWHAT MANAGERS CAN DO
Read our tips for managers to learn how to understand stereotypes and counteract gender bias on your team.
Read the tipsEndnotes
- 1 Ariane Hegewisch and Asha DuMonthier, “The Gender Wage Gap: 2015, Annual Earnings Differences by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity” IWPR #C446, (September 2016). https://iwpr.org/publications/the-gender-wage-gap-2015-annual-earnings-differences-by-gender-race-and-ethnicity/. Due to rounding, some totals may sum to 101.
- 2 Francine D Blau and Lawrence M. Kahn, “The gender wage gap: Extent, trends, and explanations,” No. w21913. National Bureau of Economic Research, (2016).
- 3 AAUW, The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap, (Spring 2017). http://www.aauw.org/aauw_check/pdf_download/show_pdf.php?file=The-Simple-Truth
- 4 Ibid.
- 5 National Partnership for Women & Families, "America’s Women and the Wage Gap," (April 2017) http://www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/workplace-fairness/fair-pay/americas-women-and-the-wage-gap.pdf; "Black Women and the Wage Gap," (March 2017), http://www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/workplace-fairness/fair-pay/african-american-women-wage-gap.pdf; "Latinas and the Wage Gap" (March 2017). http://www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/workplace-fairness/fair-pay/latinas-wage-gap.pdf.
- 6 World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report 2016, (2016). http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2016/.
- 7 Ibid.
- 8 Ibid.
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